- Centre for Policy Studies launches Conservative Revolution, a book looking back on the seismic events of the Thatcher premiership and the revolution she ushered in
- The book charts the history of the Centre for Policy Studies over the following half-century, from its founding by Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph to the present day
- Crucially, in the throes of an election campaign, it asks what a similar revolution might look like today
- Contributors include Charles Moore, Dominic Sandbrook, Anthony Seldon, Rachel Wolf, Robert Colvile, Maurice Saatchi, Graham Brady, David Willetts and Paul Goodman
‘The Centre for Policy Studies was where our conservative revolution began’
– Margaret Thatcher
The Centre for Policy Studies, one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster, is publishing a new book to mark its 50th anniversary, charting the development of Thatcherism and exploring what might be needed to revive Conservatism in the same way today.
Conservative Revolution, edited by Karl Williams and Robert Colvile, includes an extended interview with Charles Moore, Thatcher’s authorised biographer, about the role the Centre for Policy Studies played in developing her thinking. Sir Graham Brady reflects on the CPS as the home of Thatcherism as a ‘seamless garment’ – thinking which linked economic freedom with personal liberty. The Centre for Policy Studies, he argues, is ‘needed now just as much as it was in 1974. The challenge is the same.’
In later chapters, historian Professor Niall Ferguson reflects on the 1970s, the era which formed Thatcherism and the Centre for Policy Studies, and asks if we are facing the same challenges today. Dominic Sandbrook explores what Thatcherism actually was, and where we came from. Paul Goodman writes about the need to reinvent and adapt Conservatism and conservative thinking for each generation. Rachel Wolf argues that the most important task for a renewed Conservatism will be making the state work. And other writers including Anthony Seldon, Maurice Saatchi and David Willetts offer their personal reflections and provocations.
Robert Colvile, CPS Director and co-editor of Conservative Revolution, said:
‘Everyone involved with the Centre for Policy Studies – past and present – is incredibly proud of our role in the Thatcherite revolution, and acutely aware of the historical challenge it poses to us today.
‘Fittingly, this book is being released during a general election campaign – a time where policies and the principles behind them really come to the fore. This book will start a hugely important discussion about how exactly Thatcher revived the Conservatives in the 1970s, and how her heirs can do the same today.’
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Conservative Revolution is available to purchase from the CPS website
- Conservative Revolution is edited by Karl Williams and and Robert Colvile and features contributions from Ryan Bourne, Graham Brady, Robert Colvile, Tim Congdon, Alys Denby, Paul Goodman, Charlotte Howell, Niall Ferguson, Tim Knox, Charles Moore, Stephen Parkinson, Maurice Saatchi, Dominic Sandbrook, Anthony Seldon, Margaret Thatcher, David Willetts and Rachel Wolf.
- For further information and media requests, please contact Emma Revell, External Affairs Director, on 07931 698246 or [email protected] or Josh Coupland, Digital and Communications Manager, on [email protected] and 07912 485655
- The Centre for Policy Studies is one of the oldest and most influential think tanks in Westminster. Founded by Keith Joseph and Margaret Thatcher in 1974, its goal is to develop policies that widen enterprise, ownership and opportunity
Date Added: Tuesday 4th June 2024
